A. Check the Japanese Claims Act of July 2, 1948 Case Files (Record Group 60)

About the Claims

The Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act of July 2, 1948, provided compensation to Japanese American citizens removed from the West Coast during World War II (WWII) for losses of real and personal property. Approximately 26,550 claims totaling $142,000 were filed. The program was administered by the Justice Department, which set a $100,000,000 limit on the total claims. Over $36,974,240 was awarded.

If you find the person, you can review the published decisions online by clicking on the link in the File Number column.

Note: The volume only contains adjudications from January 3, 1950 to June 30, 1956, under the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act. The adjudications included are limited to those involving legal questions of wide applicability to claims filed with the Attorney General under that Act. The final claim was adjudicated in 1965.

If you then want to find out whether or not we have the case file in the National Archives, you can check in the National Archives Catalog

About the Redress Program

The Office of Redress Administration (ORA) was established in the Civil Rights Division by Section 105 of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. ORA acknowledged, apologized, and made restitution for the fundamental injustices of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II (WWII). The redress program was charged with administering the ten-year program, which, by operation of law, officially closed on February 5, 1999. ORA was responsible for identifying, locating, and authorizing tax-free restitution payment of $20,000 to eligible individuals of Japanese ancestry. Since the redress program's inception, ORA has provided $20,000 in redress to more than 82,219 eligible claimants, totaling more than $1.6 billion.

Among the estimated 82,219 individuals paid, 189 were Japanese Latin American claimants eligible for the full $20,000 in redress compensation under the Act because they had the required permanent residency status or U.S. citizenship during the defined war period. In addition, ORA paid $5,000 to 145 Japanese Latin Americans who were deported from their homes in Latin America during WWII and held in internment camps in the U.S. These payments stem from an agreement resolving a 1996 civil suit filed by four Japanese Latin Americans. The agreement, which settles the so-called Mochizuki case, calls for all qualified class members to receive a presidential apology letter and $5,000 in compensation, to the extent that funds were remaining under the Act.

The Office of Redress Administration (ORA) was established in 1988 and was charged with administering a ten-year program to provide a tax-free restitution payment of $20,000 to eligible individuals of Japanese ancestry for the fundamental injustices of the evacuation, relocation, and internment during World War II.

The case files consist of written correspondence from the individual, copies of their personal credentials and supporting documentation. Each case is closed by either a letter of ineligibility or a payment document.

How to search these records

Please note: The index to these records is not currently available online, but may be at a future date.